According to the most recent statistics provided by state law enforcement to the FBI, an amazing 98% of all marijuana-related arrests in Texas were for possession. During the same period in 2011, over 88% of all motor vehicle thefts and 71% of burglaries, including home invasions, went unsolved by police.

As marijuana cases have distracted law enforcement from serious crime, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent report indicates that more teens consume marijuana than cigarettes – a taxed and regulated product. Marijuana prohibition has been a failure by practically every measure. Let your legislators know that it’s time for a new approach.

Republicans were split more or less equally on the subject of marijuana legalization, with 48 percent supporting the idea and 49 percent opposing. Among Dems, support was stronger at 67-25 percent. Solid majorities of both parties favored making pot possession a civil instead of a criminal offense (though I must say Grits is unsure precisely what that would look like).

At the Texas Lege, I can't tell you how many times over the years legislators from both parties have expressed to me their personal support for pot legalization but apologetically declared they feared political backlash if they publicly supported the idea. If this poll is accurate, those fears were unwarranted. At a minimum, these numbers make me think legislation to reduce criminal penalties would be favorably received by the public.

There will surely be critics who think MPP's polling is biased, so one hopes other pollsters will check to see if these results are replicable. If so, these data could lead to a potentially constructive, bipartisan drug policy push on the subject when the 84th Texas Legislature convenes in 2015.

20 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Legalize marijuana to reduce jail populations. Nothing will have more positive effect at reducing our police forces and the subsidies for the GEOs and Wackenhuts, all of whom feed on the government tit under the ruse of protecting the public.

It's legal in Colorado and Washington state. But the police and district attorneys are fighting it tooth and nail. Almost daily there's a news article carefully crafted to insinuate marijuana is causing everything from pet overdoses to infertility. It's humorous to those of us who understand why law enforcement want it illegal. Take away their little drug war and they lose every ounce of power they ever held. A good 200,000 will be out of work, and likely committing crimes...

I went to safpf for breaking my probation i wanted to smoke tho. But i reported and ua were always dirty i did just about everything else. So they sent me with my own signature sad. My only option was prison or safpf so i signed for the safpf.. but i saw people who really needed help with meth,crack, herion, zannex, i dont think weed made me commit crimes like some of those offenders in there. I lost my car ,house ,women, i lost my kids i lost it all.. well guess what i did get my Ged thank you Texas Im still very open about this issue im a patient in one state legal in another and a criminal in my state...

YES YES! MAKE IT LEGAL TX. FOCUS ON THE METH, CRACK, PILLS,BATH SALT AND EVERY OTHER HARD DRUGS OUT THERE THAT ARE DESTROYING FAMILIES I KNOW 1ST. HAND WHAT THE DEVILS DRUGS "METH & CRACK WILL DO MY FAMILY HAS BEEN AND STILL DO FEEL THE HAND OF HELL!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason, the U.S.A. (as a whole) seems to be okay with the concept of politicians' being legally - For Sale, and if you can own one, why not buy a poll or two while you’re at it. Why stop there when you could just as easily set up a MPP and scew the results. I’ve never ever trusted ‘Polls’, as for the callers are given a list by the pollsters’, and no-one has any idea where they obtained them from or why they are so egger to spend their spare time conducting them (while being so-called samples, I have never met anyone that was polled, nor have I been).

When doing polls via phone there are no records other than the notes, which it why it would be better to conduct them with regular mail & email that can be printed out and / or forwarded to a database for tallying. Making the results readily available for public access would put more emphasis on transparency.

While we all are aware of the fact that both gangs’ (Rs’, Ds’ & the inbetweeners) are bought & paid for by everyone from: the wealthy, police, district attorney unions & associations to corporations, it should go without saying that weed is the new green. And when you’re making money off of it, there's no way in hell you are going to just give in.

Btw, they didn’t just start ‘this’ dirty war, it’s been going on for decades on end and simply moves from one item to the next as it follows trends, fads & certain segments of the citizenry. Btw, the police were profiling for weed users before profiling became a racial card. If a wealthy person was / is found in possession, they simply make a phone call and / or pay the man and it goes away. As for a long haired person with a part time job or no current job or money in his pockets, he went to jail vs. getting a citation.

Now, they profile everyone equally and everyone is okay with it, until it happens to them of course.

I ask folks to forego relying on the archaic but yet suggestive so-called "polls" (mini-cherry picked votes cast by anyone that picks up the phone) outcomes as they can be rigged just like the criminal justice system. Who owns the MPP is a question in its self, as far we know it, 100% could’ve favored legalization. If you are sick & tired of playing this damn game of thrones, you can quit at any time.

How? As much as I can’t believe I’m going to say this, I’m going to. Starting today, jump out of the political gang and be yourself. Vote just as you would have if you put your family budget first. From the top down – Jessie Ventura. He is not affiliated with any gang and has a track record of doing what he says, all without playing their games. As the President, he’ll put a stop to the Federal part. As for the Governor of Texas, Abbot is a wolf in Perry’s skin and is being bought & paid for as we comment. Davis, well she’s a goofball that sounds like a record that’s stuck on the same exact phrases and I swear she keeps on saying Taxes instead of Texas. If anyone ever asks her to provide her stance on this and she actually provides an answer please share it.

That leaves the state’s representatives’, congressmen / congresswomen & mayors’ in which we are absolutely oblivious to their stances because no one ‘Polls” the politicians.

Grits, would you have the time to perform a GFB Poll regarding the politicians' of Texas stance? If you need support staff to assist in emailing or sending out questionnaires just put out the word. If you'll need funds to tackle it, we can start up a fund raiser.

Asking, because you are perfect for this vs. letting the MPP, CNN or the Chronicle scoop it and possibly twist it.

We have no one to blame but ourselves for the insane act of voting just to be voting, not to mention voting for folks year after year, that do not have your best interest at heart.

So the next time you enter a voting booth & vote 'without' educating yourself about the candidate's stance on issues’ such as a drug war against a plant and those that possess it, you have essentially joined their gang. Grow a pair and ask questions, it’s your duty to be a knowledgeable voter. It's political trickery when you can simply vote straight ticket and assume you did your due diligence.

The very moment you make your selection, you essentially have been ‘jumped-in’ either one of the gangs (minus the 3 minute ass stomping) and now days they look & act exactly the same, with some being affiliated with both gangs at one point.

Just to say it, I realize folks who aren't mathematicians or political professionals don't really understand how polls work. If the sample is calibrated accurately, and this is a relatively well-known, credible firm who did it, they're typically accurate within the stated margin of error. I do hope the Texas Tribune or somebody will follow up with their own poll because MPP commissioning it can give the appearance of bias, but pretending these are "cherry picked votes" is just not accurate.

Which brings me to 1:31's suggestion for a Grits poll. Statistically valid opinion polls cost money precisely because they're not just cherry picked votes. This blog barely raises enough money to pay occasional expenses for open records requests or short-term travel. If I could afford the $10-$15K for a poll on the topic I'm afraid it would be used to pay bills, not for that purpose. As mentioned, I hope the Texas Tribune will pick up the topic and see if they can replicate the results. Their pollster James Henson (no relation) is set up to do them right. I'm competent to design and interpret polls, and have commissioned more than a few (mostly secret, strategic) polls in my professional life, but I'm neither competent nor have sufficient resources to perform them myself.

Grits, I'll be in touch with the Trib's 'Henson' this week or next to discuss the possibility of a Poll that's aimed at revealing Texas politicians' stances' on the topic regarding the legalization and regulation. (Both: current & those seeking office)

Btw, I wasn't pretending anything, I was merely playing Devil's advocate by mentioning a possibility.

FWIW, 8:33, a poll won't reveal politicians' views, just voters. What you'd want to verify this data is a poll of registered Texas voters.

Ross Ramsey at the Trib does a "poll" of political insiders but it's not statistically valid. The polls Henson does are weighted to mimic the electorate and produce statistically valid results. Still, it'd be interesting to see what Ramsey's insiders think on the topic, particularly if the Trib did a voter poll first to frame the topic.

Exactly, 10:08. I suspect that the "civil" infraction was a question based on legal frameworks in other states. Texas law doesn't really have a similar option. I'm totally with you that ratcheting down the criminal penalties to fine-only offenses for low-level possession is in practice how it would (must) work in Texas. That's not really "decriminalization," though - it'd still be a crime.

There's nothing wrong with a PPP poll. MPP didn't do the poll themselves. The only slight issue is arguably the wording of the legalization question, which mentioned Colorado and Washington and never uttered the word legalization. It also allowed respondents to respond in 5 ways (strongly, somewhat, uncertain) instead of 3. This is in contrast to UT/TT polls in Texas which just ask if one supports legalization.

The support still appears to be quite real. As Nathan Jones in the Houston Chronicle said, "I would take this poll seriously, because it does generally track with Gallup and Pew polls nationwide," said Nathan Jones, a postdoctoral fellow in Drug Policy at Rice University's Baker Institute.

As a physician and a strong republican, I say legalize and regulate!! While at med school in Lubbock I had one attending comment, "Have you ever seen someone in the ER for smoking to much pot?!" Hell no!, and still have not 15 years later. I think as (at least)my generation and below gets more political it will be legalized. We are not as easily swayed as our parents listening to govt hogwash from the 1950's and watching Reffer Madness. We are spending way too much money chasing a weed that grows all over the world, and is far more safe that legal alcohol. See this article which has a nice graphic and a link to the actual Lancet article. Most of us in the medical community knows how safe it is. Except the older docs, but they are fewer and fewer.http://thomaskleppesto.tumblr.com/post/26149335063/the-relative-dangers-of-drugs-what-the-science-says#.Uk2LHGaD9cE.facebook

GfB Writer Bios

Subscribe by email

Support Grits via Donation

Donate to Grits via PayPal. Grits is a hobby, but donations help cover newspaper subscriptions, periodic travel, open records fees, etc.. Donate if you can! When I have resources, the blog can do more stuff!

"I always tell people interested in these issues that your blog is the most important news source, and have had high-ranking corrections officials tell me they read it regularly."

- Scott Medlock, Texas Civil Rights Project

"a helluva blog"

- Solomon Moore, NY Times criminal justice correspondent

"Congrats on building one of the most read and important blogs on a specific policy area that I've ever seen"

- Donald Lee, Texas Conference of Urban Counties

GFB "is a fact-packed, trustworthy reporter of the weirdness that makes up corrections and criminal law in the Lone Star State" and has "shown more naked emperors than Hans Christian Andersen ever did."

-Attorney Bob Mabry, Conroe

"Grits really shows the potential of a single-state focused criminal law blog"

- Corey Yung, Sex Crimes Blog

"I regard Grits for Breakfast as one of the most welcome and helpful vehicles we elected officials have for understanding the problems and their solutions."

Tommy Adkisson,Bexar County Commissioner

"dude really has a pragmatic approach to crime fighting, almost like he’s some kind of statistics superhero"

- Rob Patterson, The Austin Post"Scott Henson's 'Grits for Breakfast' is one of the most insightful blogs on criminal justice issues in Texas."

- Texas Public Policy Foundation

"Nobody does it better or works harder getting it right"

David Jennings, aka "Big Jolly"

"I appreciate the fact that you obviously try to see both sides of an issue, regardless of which side you end up supporting."

Kim Vickers,Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and EducationGrits for Breakfast "has probably broken more criminal justice stories than any TX reporter, but stays under the radar. Fascinating guy."

Maurice Chammah,The Marshall Project"unrestrained and uneducated"

John Bradley,Former Williamson County District Attorney, now former Attorney General of Palau

"our favorite blog"

- Texas District and County Attorneys Association Twitter feed"Scott Henson ... writes his terrific blog Grits for Breakfast from an outhouse in Texas."